For many retailers, the decision to remain closed on Thanksgiving is rooted in the idea of honoring the all-American holiday and letting employees enjoy time off with friends and family.

But are some of these same retailers turning the decision into something of a marketing strategy?

Representatives for companies ranging from footwear retailer DSW
DSW, -1.09%
to the department store giant TJX (Marshall’s and T.J. Maxx)
TJX, +0.06%
have been quick to speak about why they have decided not to open. For example, DSW chief executive Michael MacDonald issued the following statement on the brand’s Facebook page: “We believe family comes first and you should be at home celebrating with them on this special holiday.”

Retailers have also gone so far as to take out full-page newspaper ads, trumpeting the fact they’re refusing to play into the trend of opening on Thanksgiving. Last year, Menard’s, the hardware store chain, announced in such ad that the holiday “should be celebrated with all those we hold dear.”

But marketing professionals are questioning if statements like this are, in effect, a sly form of promotion – a way to tout the company’s values and therefore woo consumers to the stores when the shopping season begins in earnest on Black Friday.

“It’s a deliberate P.R. tactic,” says Taylor Foxman, a New York public relations account executive.

But Taylor adds that it’s not necessarily a bad tactic: “Instead of promoting a blender, these stores are promoting family. But in the process, they might get shoppers to buy that blender anyhow.”

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